By Kalyn Sims
Public safety serves as the bedrock of communities throughout the U.S., ensuring citizens can access help when they need it most. However, this critical function rests on the shoulders of police officers, firefighters, EMS personnel and emergency communications center staff who are all too often stretched thin by staffing shortages in what’s already a high-stress job.
The resulting long hours, frequent turnover and high burnout rates coupled with skyrocketing call volumes and a flood of data from a myriad of sources — traffic cameras, security footage, telematics, and texts and videos from the public — have created a crisis that demands immediate attention. Could artificial intelligence be the pressure relief valve these overworked public safety agencies need?
AI as a force multiplier — not a replacement
AI cannot — and should not — replace human workers in public safety. The critical decision-making that keeps communities safe must remain in the hands of skilled professionals. However, AI can step in to tackle the more tedious and time-consuming tasks, freeing up personnel to focus on the jobs that require human insight and experience.
For instance, a police investigator working on a string of armed robberies might be drowning in weeks of evidence. Sifting through hours of video footage and piles of data is an arduous task — one that AI can handle with remarkable speed and ease. Assistive AI can comb through mountains of data, making connections that humans might miss — like identifying a license plate captured near multiple crime scenes across multiple jurisdictions. This not only accelerates the investigation, but also allows officers to focus on the most critical aspects of their work.
Similarly, dispatchers — who often manage dozens of calls during emergencies — are prime candidates for AI support. During a major traffic accident, assistive AI can act as a virtual assistant, monitoring incoming data in real-time. It can even alert dispatchers to potential solutions such as a detour to ease traffic congestion or flag critical incidents that may require immediate attention. This type of immediate, actionable insight not only reduces stress for the dispatcher but also helps resolve the situation more efficiently, ensuring faster, more effective responses.
By identifying trends faster than human analysts, AI can significantly reduce the time it takes to deploy resources to where they are needed most. Importantly, AI remains assistive in this context — it only flags potential issues, leaving the final decision-making about resource allocation and emergency response in the hands of human professionals.
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Enhancing resource allocation through AI-driven insights
In addition, AI doesn’t just improve the performance of individual agencies — it also enhances interagency collaboration. Cloud-based collaboration portals, for instance, can use assistive AI to share critical information instantly between police officers, firefighters, EMS workers and even hospitals without the need for expensive technology investments. Through these secure portals, agencies can create a common operating picture, ensuring that everyone involved has access to the same data and can make quickly informed decisions. The result: More eyes on the problem, better coordination and expedited positive outcomes.
Ultimately, data intelligence is valuable, but being able to share and act on that information in real time is vital. At its core, the real value of assistive AI lies in its ability to manage the explosion of data that public safety agencies are grappling with today, while alleviating the challenges of overworked teams.
While assistive AI alone cannot solve the public safety staffing crisis, it can offer critical relief for agencies struggling to keep pace with growing demands. By automating tedious tasks, detecting critical patterns in data and aiding cross-agency collaboration, AI can give public safety professionals the breathing room they need to focus on what they do best — protecting and serving their communities.
About the author
Kalyn Sims is Chief Technology Officer for Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division.
